2010 Catalan autonomy protest
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Catalan autonomy protest was a demonstration
in central Barcelona
on 10 July 2010 against limitations of the autonomy of Catalonia
within Spain
, and particularly against a recent decision of the Spanish Constitutional Court to annul or reinterpret several articles of the 2006 Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia
. The number of people taking part in the demonstration was estimated at between 1.1 million (according to the local police) and 1.5 million (according to the organisers), at 56,000-62,000 according to a private company, Lynce. Madrid
-based newspaper El País estimated the number of demonstrators at 425,000. The mobilisation was described as "unprecedented" by the mayor of Barcelona
. The Barcelona daily newspaper El Periódico de Catalunya
described it as "without a doubt one of the biggest [protest] marches that has [ever] occurred in Catalonia, possibly the biggest".
The demonstration was led by a banner with the slogan in Catalan
Som una nació. Nosaltres decidim. (in English
, "We are a nation. We decide.").
candidate José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
in the run-up to the 2003 Catalan parliamentary election and the 2004 Spanish general elections. The new Statute was approved by 91% of the Parliament of Catalonia
, by the Cortes Generales
(parliament of Spain), albeit in a curtailed form, and finally by the electors of Catalonia in a referendum on 18 June 2006 (73.24% in favour on a turnout of 48.85%).
Almost immediately, the opposition Spanish nationalist
People's Party
launched a legal challenge to declare unconstitutional much of the new Statute. The opinion of the judges in the Constitutional Court was divided between "progressives", who felt the Statute was basically in line with Spain's 1978 Constitution
, and "conservatives", who felt the Statute gave Catalonia far too much autonomy and so threatened the unity of the Spanish State. The debate went on for four years, with one judge dying in the meantime and four other judges continuing long after their terms of office had theoretically come to an end. A compromise was finally reached on 28 June 2010, and passed by six votes to four. The summary judgment published the same day revealed that the Court had declared parts of 14 out of 277 articles unconstitutional and would submit 27 more to restrictive "interpretation". The full judgment was released on 9 July 2010.
with the public support of about 1,600 other organisations, including four out of the six political parties represented in the Parliament of Catalonia
(representing more than 85% of votes at the last parliamentary election), the two main trade union
s (CCOO and Unión General de Trabajadores
(UGT)), the main employers' federation (Cipec), and F.C. Barcelona.
The march had been planned to start at 18:00 CEST
(16:00 UTC) at the junction between the Avinguda Diagonal and the Passeig de Gràcia 41.3965°N 2.1595°W. It was then to have descended the Passeig de Gràcia to its junction with the Gran Via
, before turning left and finishing at the Plaça de Tetuan 41.3948°N 2.1755°W, a distance of about 2 kilometres (1¼ miles).
(flag of Catalonia), eventually managed to form at the junction of the Passeig de Gràcia with Carrer d'Aragó
41.3922°N 2.1648°W, and started moving at around 18:20, albeit moving through dense crowds. By 19:30, it had only reached the Gran Via 41.3894°N 2.1683°W, a distance of about 400 metres. The organisers decided to perform the closing act – the singing of Els Segadors
(the Catalan anthem) and the reading of a short manifesto – in a packed Plaça de Tetuan despite the absence of the official "head" of the march, and the demonstration started to disperse at around 20:00.
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
in central Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
on 10 July 2010 against limitations of the autonomy of Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
within Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and particularly against a recent decision of the Spanish Constitutional Court to annul or reinterpret several articles of the 2006 Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia
Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia
The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia provides Catalonia's basic institutional regulations. It defines the rights and obligations of the citizens of Catalonia , the political institutions of the Catalan nationality, their competences and relations with the rest of Spain, and the financing of the...
. The number of people taking part in the demonstration was estimated at between 1.1 million (according to the local police) and 1.5 million (according to the organisers), at 56,000-62,000 according to a private company, Lynce. Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
-based newspaper El País estimated the number of demonstrators at 425,000. The mobilisation was described as "unprecedented" by the mayor of Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. The Barcelona daily newspaper El Periódico de Catalunya
El Periódico de Catalunya
El Periódico de Catalunya is a morning daily newspaper based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain and owned by Grupo Zeta. El Periódico is actually two newspapers, publishing separate editions in Spanish and in Catalan...
described it as "without a doubt one of the biggest [protest] marches that has [ever] occurred in Catalonia, possibly the biggest".
The demonstration was led by a banner with the slogan in Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
Som una nació. Nosaltres decidim. (in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, "We are a nation. We decide.").
Background
A new Statute of Autonomy for Catalonia was a key promise by SocialistSpanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...
candidate José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party . He was elected for two terms as Prime Minister of Spain, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. On 2 April 2011 he announced he will not stand for re-election in 2012...
in the run-up to the 2003 Catalan parliamentary election and the 2004 Spanish general elections. The new Statute was approved by 91% of the Parliament of Catalonia
Parliament of Catalonia
The Parliament of Catalonia is the unicameral legislature of Catalonia. It is formed by 135 members , who are elected every four years in ordinary period, or extraordinarily upon dissolution and call of elections by the President of Catalonia, by universal suffrage in proportional lists with four...
, by the Cortes Generales
Cortes Generales
The Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution...
(parliament of Spain), albeit in a curtailed form, and finally by the electors of Catalonia in a referendum on 18 June 2006 (73.24% in favour on a turnout of 48.85%).
Almost immediately, the opposition Spanish nationalist
Spanish nationalism
Spanish nationalism is the social, political and ideological movement which has shaped Spain's national identity since the 19th century.Spanish nationalism is not an irredentist nationalism per se, the only territorial revindication identified as actually being "national" as such having been...
People's Party
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
launched a legal challenge to declare unconstitutional much of the new Statute. The opinion of the judges in the Constitutional Court was divided between "progressives", who felt the Statute was basically in line with Spain's 1978 Constitution
Spanish Constitution of 1978
-Structure of the State:The Constitution recognizes the existence of nationalities and regions . Preliminary Title As a result, Spain is now composed entirely of 17 Autonomous Communities and two autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy, to the extent that, even though the Constitution...
, and "conservatives", who felt the Statute gave Catalonia far too much autonomy and so threatened the unity of the Spanish State. The debate went on for four years, with one judge dying in the meantime and four other judges continuing long after their terms of office had theoretically come to an end. A compromise was finally reached on 28 June 2010, and passed by six votes to four. The summary judgment published the same day revealed that the Court had declared parts of 14 out of 277 articles unconstitutional and would submit 27 more to restrictive "interpretation". The full judgment was released on 9 July 2010.
Organisation of the protest
The protest was organised by the prominent Catalan cultural organisation Òmnium CulturalÒmnium Cultural
Òmnium Cultural is a cultural association based in Barcelona . It was originally created to promote the Catalan language and spread Catalan culture....
with the public support of about 1,600 other organisations, including four out of the six political parties represented in the Parliament of Catalonia
Parliament of Catalonia
The Parliament of Catalonia is the unicameral legislature of Catalonia. It is formed by 135 members , who are elected every four years in ordinary period, or extraordinarily upon dissolution and call of elections by the President of Catalonia, by universal suffrage in proportional lists with four...
(representing more than 85% of votes at the last parliamentary election), the two main trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s (CCOO and Unión General de Trabajadores
Unión General de Trabajadores
The Unión General de Trabajadores is a major Spanish trade union, historically affiliated with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party .-History:...
(UGT)), the main employers' federation (Cipec), and F.C. Barcelona.
The march had been planned to start at 18:00 CEST
Central European Summer Time
Central European Summer Time is one of the names of the Daylight saving time offset using the UTC offset of UTC+02:00, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in most European countries. During the winter, Central European Time is used...
(16:00 UTC) at the junction between the Avinguda Diagonal and the Passeig de Gràcia 41.3965°N 2.1595°W. It was then to have descended the Passeig de Gràcia to its junction with the Gran Via
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, Barcelona
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, more simply known as Gran Via, is one of Barcelona's major avenues. With a length of 13.1 kilometres, it is the longest street in Spain.-Location:...
, before turning left and finishing at the Plaça de Tetuan 41.3948°N 2.1755°W, a distance of about 2 kilometres (1¼ miles).
Events on the day
Well before 18:00, crowds had started to press down the Passeig de Gràcia from Diagonal, and many people were still moving up from the Plaça de Catalunya along both the Passeig de Gràcia and the parallel Rambla de Catalunya. The official "front" of the march, with its 25 m by 10 m (83 ft by 33 ft) SenyeraSenyera
The Senyera is a vexillological symbol based on the coat of arms of the Crown of Aragon, which consists of four red stripes on a golden background...
(flag of Catalonia), eventually managed to form at the junction of the Passeig de Gràcia with Carrer d'Aragó
Carrer d'Aragó
Carrer d'Aragó is a major thoroughfare in Barcelona, one of the widest and busiest roads of the districts it cuts through, especially Eixample but also Sant Martí. Its creation was passed in 1863, and was part of Ildefons Cerdà's urban plan, appearing as L Street in 1867, even though that name was...
41.3922°N 2.1648°W, and started moving at around 18:20, albeit moving through dense crowds. By 19:30, it had only reached the Gran Via 41.3894°N 2.1683°W, a distance of about 400 metres. The organisers decided to perform the closing act – the singing of Els Segadors
Els Segadors
-History:Though the original song dates in the oral tradition to 1640, its modern lyrics were written by Emili Guanyavents, who won a controversial competition in 1899. The music was standardized by Francesc Alió in 1892...
(the Catalan anthem) and the reading of a short manifesto – in a packed Plaça de Tetuan despite the absence of the official "head" of the march, and the demonstration started to disperse at around 20:00.
See also
- CataloniaCataloniaCatalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
- Autonomous communities of SpainAutonomous communities of SpainAn autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...
- Catalan nationalismCatalan nationalismCatalan nationalism or Catalanism , is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or full independence of Catalonia....
- Catalan National March, 10 July 2010 BarcelonaCatalan National March, 10 July 2010 Barcelona1.5 million Catalan people marched in Barcelona on 10 July 2010, to protest against the situation of the Catalan Nation within the Spain, after a call from 1200 social and cultural societies led by Omnium Cultural...